Drapery rod master carrier



June 26, 1962 J, v GRABER ETAL 3,040,373

DRAPERY ROD MASTER CARRIER Filed March 25, 1960 l lll 4 9. Ha 317k ll-lb United AStates Patenti 3,040,373 DRAPERY ROD MASTER CARRIER Joseph V. Graber and Peter I. riyler, Madison,.Wis., assignors to Graber Manufacturing Company, Inc., Middleton, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Mar. 2S, 196th, Ser. No. 17,566 7 Claims. (Cl. 16-93) This invention relates to drapery fixtures and particularly to au improved master slide construction.

In drapery traverse rods, the master slide tends to tilt in a direction longitudinally of the rod when the drapery is attached, due to the clearance between the master slide guide blocks and the trackway. In addition, in traverse rods of the type wherein the trackway is formed at the rear side of the rod and the drapery support arm is located at the front of the rod, there is also some lateral swinging of the master slide relative to the rod. This longitudinaltilting and lateral swinging of the master slide on the rod causes the leading edge of the drapery carried thereby to sag with respect to the remainder of the drapery so that the upper edge of the drapery is not even. Moreover, the amount of tilting and swinging of the master slides will vary when the slide is at different points along the rod. This sagging of the upper edge of the draperies is most noticeable when adjacent drapery panels are moved into overlapping relation and, heretofore, attempts have been made to compensate for the sagging of the master slide by adjusting the position of the drapery hooks on the draperies. However, this was not entirely satisfactory since the drapery is supported on the master slide yby a plurality of hooks and each of those hooks had to be adjusted, making the adjustment tedious and time consuming. Moreover, some types of drapery hooks are not adjustable on the draperies so that the sagging of the master slide could not be compensated in that manner.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved master slide construction in which the drapery support arm can be adjusted relative to the slide body to compensate for the tilting and sagging of the master slide on the rod and give the upper edge of the drapery an even appearance.

Another object of this invention is to provide a master slide having an overlap arm which is adjustable to compensate for sagging of the master slide on the rod and which overlap arm is also reversible to enable use of the slide for either right or left draw draperies.

Another object of this invention is to provide a master slide in accordance with the foregoing objects and which has an improved arrangement for adjustably mounting the overlap arm on the slide *body to provide a simple and economical construction which can rbe. easily adjusted after installation.

These, together with various ancillary objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective View of a traverse rod having the improved master slide of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a master slide with the drapery rod shown in phantom;

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FIG. is a perspective exploded view of the master slide.

The drapery xture specifically shown herein is of the two-way type and includes a rod 10` which is adapted to be mounted by suitable brackets (not shown) on a supporting surface such as a wall, and overlap and underlap from. the mounting portion 39a a-t the front side of the master slides 11 and 12 which are slidably mounted on the rod. It is to be understood, however, that the improved overlap master slide is also adapted for use on one-way traverse rods to drawY the drapery panel into overlapping relation with the drapery rod end bracket.

In certain drapery installations wherein the rods are cut to measure, a single rod section is employed. However, in the adjustable or extension type traverse rods, the rod 10 includes telescopic sections 10a and 10b (FIG. 4) which overlap for a portion of their length. The rod 10= has a slot 14 in the rear face thereof defining a trackway 14 for slidably receiving the master slides -11 and 12 and, for reasons set forth more fully hereinafter, the rear wall 1S of the rod is preferably inclined downwardly and forwardly as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The underlap master slide 12 herein shown includes a slide body 21 disposed at the rear side of the rod 10 andhaving a cord lock 22 for connecting the traverse cord to the slide. The slide body 21 is supported on the rod 10 by means of guide blocks 23 which are attached to the front face of the body by rivets 24 and have upper and lower grooves 23a for receiving the rod at opposite sides of the opening 14. The body 21 also has a lower portion 21a which curves forwardly as shown in FIG. 4 to underlie the rod 10, and an underlap arm 26 extends downwardly from the portion 21a. The underlap arm 26 is normally disposed adjacent the underside of the rod 10 and has a portion 26a which projects beyond the end of the slide 21. A plurality of substantially uniformly spaced drapery hook openings 27a-27d are formed in the underlap arm.

The overlap master slide 11 includes a slide body 31 also 'disposed at the rear side of the rod 1t) and having a cord lock 32. Guide blocks 33' Iare attached to the front face of the body 31 by rivets 34 and have grooves 35 in the upper and lower faces thereof for receiving the portions of the rod adjacent the upper and lower sides of the slot `14. A leg 37 extends laterally from the underside of the slide body 31 and underlies the rod 10.

In accordance with the present invention, the overlapY arm 39 is formed separate from the slide body and is -adjustably attached thereto to enable raising and lowering of the portion of the drapery carried by the overlap arm. As shown herein, a iange 3'8 depends from the forward edge of the leg 37. The overlap arm 39 has a mounting portion 39a which is attached to the leg in a manner to be described hereinafter Iand an overlap portion 39b which is adapted to extendbeyond the end' of the slide body 32. The overlap portion 3911 is offset latter.

As best shown in lFIGS. 3 and 4, the thickness of the guide blocks 33, between the bases of the top and bottom grooves 35 therein, is less than the width of the Vslot 1'4 in the rod to permit free sliding'movement' of the guides along the trackway. In addition, the width ofthe grooves 35 is greater than the Width of the double rod section as shown .in FIG. 4 to provide adequate clearance for free sliding of the guide blocks on the double rod section.` l The weight of the master slide and .arm,together with the drapery thereon causes the slide to swing -in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4 until the front wall 35a of the lower groove engages the inner surface of the rod adjacent the lower edge of theslot 14 and the rear wall 35b of the upper grooveengages the outer surface of Vthe rod'above the slot 14. The downward and forward slope of the rear wall of the rod is preferably selected so as to minimize the sagging of the slide when the guide blocks rest on the double rod section and as shown in FIG. 4, the slide body Gl remains upright when the guide blocks engage the double wall rod section. However, when the same guide blocks engage the single'rod section `as shown in FIG. 3, the slide body swings out of its upright position, and, in the specific form shown, makes an angle of only about 86 with respect to the horizontal. This permits the overlap arm 39 to swing downwardly and will cause the upper edge of the drapery carried thereby to be uneven. In addition to the aforedescribed transverse swinging of the master slide, there is also a longitudinal tilting of the slide on the rod due to the clearance between the base of the grooves 35 and the slot 14. As is shown in FIG. 4, the weight of the drapery `attached to the arm will cause the block adjacent the overlap portion 3% of the arm to rest on the lower edge of the groove while the other block engages on the upper edge of the slot 14. As is apparent, the amplitude of the longitudinal tilting and transverse swinging of the slide relative to the rod will vary at different points along the rod, dependent on the width of the slot or traclrway 14 and also the thickness of the rod section. However, the vsagging of the leading edge of the draperies is most noticeable when the draperies are closed and the leading edges overlap. The arm 39 is made adjustable to compensate for the tilting of the master slide on the rod and to enable leveling of the upper edge of the draperies.

The overlap arm 39 is formed with a plurality of drapery hook openings, herein shown four in number and designated 4in-4M. 'lille openings are located at yapproximately equally spaced points along the arm and, preferably, one of the openings such as 41h is arranged so as to be aligned with the edge of the slide body 3l. The mounting portion 39a of the overlap arm is angularly adjustably mounted on the flange 38 and for this purpose one of the drapery hook openings 41C is a drawn hole to form a ferrule or ilange d3 (see FIG. 3) around the opening at the rear side of the arm. The flange is adapted to be received in an opening 47 in the flange 38. A vertically elongated opening d4 is formed in the arm and a screw 4-5 is adapted to extend through the opening 44 and into an opening 46' in the flange to lock the arm on the flange in any preselected adjusted position thereof. With this arrangement, the screw 4S can Vbe loosened and the leading edge of the arm 39 raised or lowered to elevate or lower the upper edge of the drapery and level the same, at which time the screw 45 is tightened to lock the arm in its adjusted position, lt is, therefore, unnecessary to adjust the position of the drapery hooks on the drapery and leveling can be Iachieved very rapidly.

The arm 39' is advantageously arranged so as to be reversibly positioned on the slide body to enable use of the main master slide and arm for either left or right draw draperies. For this purpose, a second opening 4S; is provided in the flange 38 to receive the ferrule 4.3 when the arm is turned through 180. A second screw opening 43 is also provided in the flange to receive the screw 45. The openings 43 and 49 are positioned so that, when the Aarm is mounted in those openings, the drapery hook opening 49b will be located in substantial vertical alignment with the other end of the slide body 32. Thus, the overlap arm is arranged so as to project an equal distance `from either end of the slide body to provide the same amount of overlap in either position thereof.

In the embodiment illustrated, only the overlap arm 39 is made adjustable, it being understood that the underlap arm 26 could similarly be made adjustable, if desired. However, the offset between the underlap arm land the trackway at the rear of the rod is relatively small so that there is little sagging of the drapery carried by the under, lap arm, due to transverse swinging of the underlap slide i relative to the rod. Moreover, the end of drapery carried by the projecting portion 26a of the underlap arm is effectively hidden by the drapery on the overlap arm, when the drapery panels overlap, so that it is not essential that the underlap arrn be made adjustable.

The use and operation of the improved master slide has been indicated in the foregoing description of the construction of the device. lt is preferable to adjust the arm when the draperies are closed since it is in that position that any unevenness in the upper edge of the draperies is most apparent. When the draperies are closed, the screw can be loosened and the arm adjusted to raise or lower the edge of the drapery carried thereby to make the upper edge of drapery panels even, after which the screw is tightened to lock the arm in adjusted position. In this regard it is to be noted that leveling of the drapery can be achieved without removing the drapery from the overlap arm since it is only necessary to deflect the upper edge of the drapery in the area adjacent the screw i5y to provide access for a screw driver to the screw.

We claim:

1. A drapery fixture comprising a rod having a slot in its rear face extending longitudinally thereof to define a trackway, a master slide body disposed at the rear side of the rod and having a pair of spaced slide blocks thereon slidably mounted in the trackway, an elongated overlap arm having a lead end for supporting a drapery, said overlap arm being adapted to extend alongside the rod at the front thereof, means mounting said overlap arm on the body for limited angular adjustment about a generally' horizontal axis spaced from the lead end of the arm and disposed approximately midway between said box to enable selective raising and lowering of the lead end of the arm to compensate for the tilting of the slide relative to the rod when the weight of the drapery is applied to the arm, and means engaging said overlap arm and said body at a point spaced radially from said axis for selectively locking said arm to said body in the angularly adjusted position thereof.

2. A drapery fixture comprising a hollow rod having a longitudinal slot in its rear face defining a trackway, a master slide including a slide body disposed at the rear side of the rod and having spaced slide blocks slidably mounted in said tracltway, said body having a leg extending laterally from adjacent its lower edge to underlie the rod and terminating in a flange at the front side of the rod, an overlap arm adapted to extend longitudinally of the rod fior supporting one edge of a drapery panel, said flange having at least two openings therein at longitudinally spaced points therealong, said overlap arm having a drawn hole therein adapted to receive a drapery hook and defining a ferrule rotatably disposed in one of said openings to support the arm on the body for angular moveyment relative thereto about a generally horizontal axis, said arm having a vertically elongated opening spaced from said drawn hole, anda fastener extending through said elongated opening and into the other of said openings in the flange for selectively locking said arm to said flange in a preselected angularly adjusted position whereby to compensate for tilting of the slide body on the rod.

3. A drapery fixture comprising a hollow rod having a longitudinal slot in its rear face defining a trackway, a master slide including a slide body disposed at the rear side of the rod and having spaced slide blocks slidably mounted in said trackway, said body having a leg extending laterally from adjacent its lower edge to underlie the rod and terminatingl in a flange at the front side of the rod, said flange having a plurality of openings therein, a drapery support arm having a mounting portion and an overlap portion laterally offset from said mounting portion, said arm having a plurality of openings at substantially uniformly spaced points therealong for receiving drapery hooks, at least one of said openings in said arm being located in said mounting portion and having a rearwardly extending ferrule therearound adapted to extend into one of said openings in said flange to pivotally support the arm on said slide body for movement about a generally horizontal axis, said mounting portion having a vertically elongated opening therein spaced from said one of said openings therein, and a fastener extending through said elongated opening and into one of the openings in the iange to selectively lock the arm to the ange.

4. A drapery fixture comprising a rod having a slot in its rear -face extending longitudinally thereof to 'deu fine a tracltway, a master slide body disposed at the rear side of the rod and having spaced slide blocks thereon slidably mounted in said trackway, said body having a liange portion disposed below said trackway and extending generally parallel thereto, an elongated overlap arm having a mounting portion at one end and a lead end adapted to extend longitudinally of the rod for supporting one edge of a drapery panel, arm mounting means pivotally interconnecting said mounting portion and said iiange portion for relative movement about a generally horizontal axis to enable raising and lowering of said lead end of the arm whereby to compensate for tilting of the slide body on the rod, said armv mounting means having a drapery hook receiving opening extending therethrough for receiving a drapery hook, and means engaging said flange portion and said mounting portion at a point spaced radially from said axis for selectively locking said arm to said body in the adjusted position thereof.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said locking means includes a slot in one of said portions disposed substantially concentric to said arm mounting means and a fastener extending through the slot and engaging the other of said portions.

6. A drapery fixture comprising a hollow rod having a longitudinal slot in its rear face defining a trackway, a master slide including a slide body disposed at the rear side of the rod and having spaced slide blocks slidably mounted in said trackway, said body having a leg extending forwardly from adjacent its lower end to underlie the rod and terminating in a iiange portion at the front side of the rod, an overlap arm adapted to extend longitudinally of the rod for 'supporting one edge of a drapery panel, said overlap arm having a mounting portion adjacent one end, means pivotally attaching said mounting portion of said overlap arm on said flange portion for limited angular adjustment relative thereto Iabout a generally horizontal axis spaced from the other end of the arm to enable raising and lowering of said other end of the arm whereby to compensate for tilting of the slide body on the rod, one of said portions having a vertically extending slot therein disposed substantially concentric to said axis, land a fastener extending through said slot and attached to the other of said portions for locking said arm to said body in the angularly adjusted position thereof.

'7. A drapery fixture comprising a hollow rod having a longitudinal slot in its rear face defining a traokway, a master slide including a slide body disposed -at the rear side of the rod and having spaced slide blocks slidably mounted in the tracleway, said body having a generally upright ange portion extending below the rod, an overlap arm having a drapery receiving opening adjacent each end and at least t-wo drapery receiving openings intermediate its ends spaced substantially equally from each other and from an adjacent one of the end openings, one of s-aid intermediate openings having a rearwardly ex tending ferrule therearound, said flange on said slide body having a ferrule receiving opening therein, and fastener1 means yengageable Withsaid iiange and with said arm at a point intermediate said hook receiving openings in said arm for detachably securing said arm to said 'ange.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,487 Kenney et al. Sept. 1l, 1934 2,775,782 Boiu Jan. 1, 1957 2,942,659 Stephens June 28, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 662,984 Great Britain Dec. l2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE `CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTIN Patent No. 3,040,373 June 26, 1962 Joseph V.A Graber et al.

It is hereby certified that error appears n the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 32, for "box" read blocks Signed and sealed this 16th day of October 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. swlDER DAVID L. LADD Attcsting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

